What I Miss
by RenaRoo
Summary: Renee runs into Daria. Or, rather, Renee shows up at Daria's restaurant and hopes beyond hope she can pull off being surprised after so much time it took for her to come back where she really belonged. ReneexDaria. Sapphic September: Sweaters.


I don't think I've ever written for Daria and Renee's romance? Even though I adore them so much and they're up there in my mind with Holly & Karon and Kate & Maggie for iconic couples of Gotham. So it's time to fix that.

Batman and related characters © DC Comics  
story © RenaRoo

 **What I Miss**

Renee was a smart detective. She should have known better. It wasn't exactly like it took much more than common sense to know that showing up, unannounced, without a plan, to the one place in the world you would be wanted least was ever something desirable to do to an ex. She knew it was stupid long before she stepped through the door.

She knew a lot of things. But Renee had always been more _stubborn_ than she was _smart_ at the end of the day and that was going to always have been her downfall.

It was a trait she inherited from her family all too strongly.

So despite all signs, despite all common sense, Renee sat down by herself at a table for two, checked the clock to know what shifts were about to change, then gave a simple order to the teenage waiter who came to serve her.

"Non-sweet tea," Renee answered before he could get a word out. "And a water with lemon. Poblano pepper with extra brown rice, taquitos mexicanos with papas and a Dos Equis." She waited for the shock to drop from his face and gave him time to write down what he could remember. She paid attention so that she knew for sure that the important parts were written down, then she tilted her hat up. "And, please, tell the chef I send my highest regards."

The last part was enough to make even the nervous young man take pause and look at Renee questioningly. But it didn't last for long. He slowly nodded and then cleared his throat as he left to immediately tell anyone in the back about the strangeness.

There was no telling if he would go to management or to the kitchens first to describe his encounter, but Renee took the gamble because she knew that either way she was going to get what she wanted. And that, in itself, was a pretty sickening thought. Since what she wanted was fairly self-destructive and selfish if nothing else. And it was going to uproot the foundations of whatever life her ex had built for herself since leaving Renee at its least.

No one came out with her drinks, Renee studied the clock and figured that she wasn't even going to get her customary chips and salsa for the meal due to the calamity she had no doubt unfolded in the back of the restaurant.

Then, finally, there was the stomping of feet and, as Renee looked dup, she was met by someone who probably thought Renee would never darken her doorsteps again.

"Renee!" Daria all but bellowed. She'd grown a bit thinner since the breakup. Her eyes had more of a wrinkle, she let her hair grow long enough to be tucked behind her ears. Ironic, as Renee had cut off most of her own hair in recent months.

It was amazing how exhausted from a full shift, older and sharper on all her edges, Daria still managed to be the most beautiful woman Renee had ever had the pleasure of knowing.

"Daria," Renee answered in turn. She waved to the adjacent seat. "I've got room for one more if—"

"Grab your coat, we're taking this outside," Daria ordered.

Not getting up quite yet, Renee remained calm. Cool. It was the key to maintaining control of the chaos that she always seemed to drag into her own life. At least, that's what Tot kept telling her.

She should've probably listened to more of his advice before getting into the situation to begin with.

"So my money's not good here? I can't order our favorite meals and eat peacefully?" she pressed smoothly instead.

Daria looked immediately frazzled. " _Our_ favorite— Renee. Get your coat. We're taking this outside before it's _more_ of a scene," she ordered.

Renee let out a small breath and tilted her hat back down before following orders. "As you insist, ma'am."

There was a vein in Daria's jaw that pulsed at the comment but she wasn't going to say another word until they were out the door. It was the sort of restraint that made Renee feel restraint.

Once they were out the door, Gotham hit them both with a blast of wind. Snow was supposed to fall later that night, and the gushing air of the not-so-distant Gotham Bay seemed intent on reminding the whole city of it. Especially Renee and Daria as the latter led the former straight for the nearest street corner, far enough from her restaurant that yelling was less likely to be heard or acknowledged by patrons.

Responsibility, patience, an understanding of how to act in public. Renee was remembering all over again how many things Daria was capable of that completed her.

"What the _hell,_ Renee?" Daria asked, wearing nothing more than her work clothes and a completely bewildered expression that battled valiantly with her confusion and anger.

"I'm back in Gotham," Renee answered. "It felt like a night to eat at my favorite place."

"Oh my _god,"_ Daria hissed, hugging her arms in the wind and looking off. "I haven't… You haven't said a single word to me in three years. That's almost as long as we were living together. Jesus Christ."

"I could argue that it goes both ways but… you're right. I haven't reached out to you in three years. After you broke up with me," Renee acknowledged sharply. "You can see why I might assume that there's good reason for _not_ being the one to initiate it."

"Until tonight," Daria laughed darkly. "Of course you should've reached out to me. _No one_ has known how to get a hold of you since you went off the grid. Your _mother_ has talked to me more than the entire time we were together simply because she sometimes hopes I can tell her you're alive. And those are the _worst_ because I can't."

"I'm sorry," Renee said truthfully. "I didn't ever want to put that on you."

Daria glared at her angrily. "But you put the onus on me to fix things if there was a chance to," Daria said lowly. "Right? Because I broke things off. But _you…_ You were the one who refused to _fight_ for us. Even when we were still together for those last months… you couldn't gather the fucks to give us a fighting chance. You _drained_ me. You took my heart and returned it without an ounce of love left."

Though she had been quiet for most of the outburst, Renee let out a breathy sigh and looked back at Daria. "So I take it you _haven't_ been dating since the breakup."

Shocked at first, Daria's mouth opened before her thin lips pulled back as she gritted teeth, her hand pulling back but not before Renee was already grabbing it at the wrist, stopping any forward momentum.

"Don't," Renee warned. "Don't assault an officer."

"You're not a police officer anymore, Renee," Daria reminded her. "You're… I don't even know. What _are_ you now?"

Despite herself, Renee allowed a coy smile to tug at her face. "That's the _question,_ isn't it?" she asked back.

"Don't play games with me," Daria warned. "Dammit, Renee, don't… don't you…"

"No games," Renee assured her. "I'm still a detective. My hours and payroll are just a little different."

"Never-ending, is more like it," Daria muttered, rubbing her arms for warmth.

Without hesitation, Renee slipped her coat off and began to reach to wrap it around Daria instead, only hesitating when the other woman pulled back, a suspicious look in her eyes.

"I'm fine, thank you," Daria assured her.

"You're freezing," Renee countered. "And I have more layers. And more coats if this ends with you saying pretty definitively that you never want to see me again."

"It might," Daria answered defensively .Still she didn't flinch away as Renee helped drape the coat over her shoulders. She even shuffled her arms a bit to help the coat more fully fall into place. Then she looked around and back to Renee. "Why did you come here, Renee? What do you want?"

"I miss things," Renee answered simply. "Even if they're things I know I can never get back — or even if they're things I don't deserve back — I miss them. And I was hoping to see more of them. Try to earn them back."

"I'm one of those _things?"_ Daria asked, unimpressed.

"You're not a _thing_ to be missed," Renee answered. "You're the part of my _whole._ You're that thing that I don't deserve because I've just proved to be all the reasons you left me for in the first place. Haven't I?"

Daria didn't rise to the bait, but she seemed more comfortable and calm. Her eyes shifted over Renee's body carefully. "If I'm not something you miss, what do you miss?"

"Silly things, insignificant things," Renee answered with a shrug. "Gotham air. The Batsignal annoying the shit out of me at two in the morning. The sweaters my mom would make and send me every Christmas."

The last bit got a genuine laugh out of Daria. And, in turn, Renee smiled. "You always looked cute in those sweaters."

"You only say that because you never had to wear them," Renee answered. "Listen, believe it or not, I _did_ order food and beer because I'm hungry. And if you just got off work… well, I'm betting you wouldn't mind a free meal at a restaurant where you _don't_ serve the desserts, right?"

Daria took a breath. "You can't just walk back into people's lives like this, Renee."

"I know, I'm not pretty enough to get away with it," Renee joked.

"I'm trying to be serious here. I _loved_ you with everything in me and you… The person you were just gave up in front of my own eyes and left me with someone I don't recognize even today," Daria warned. "I don't think my heart can take you at only your word alone anymore. I can't make crazy moves just for old memories."

"Is dinner a crazy move? Because that's all I'm asking for right now, I swear," Renee assured her. "Plus I have plenty of questions for you. Questions I'd love to hear you answer."

Daria shook her head, a small smirk on her face. "You're incorrigible, aren't you?"

"I'm just an enigma, as complex and as simple as that may mean," Renee answered, holding out her hand. "Dinner? For real?"

With a long sigh, Daria took Renee's hand, answering the first of many questions for the night.

And the possibilities, endless as they were, began only then.


End file.
